Edmond (C or 2/4 stars)
'Edmond' is a psychological thriller directed by Stuart Gordon. This film sets the tone by showing us the banal life of Edmond Burke (William H. Macy). He is a businessman who is quiet, inward, but seemingly fed up with his existence as he knows it. On his way home from work one evening, he stops by a fortune teller to see if she knows his fate. In an oddly compelling scene (highlighted with stark, tense music), the teller pauses and says, 'You are not where you're supposed to be'. The quote is meant literally & figuratively for the rest of this film. This jump starts him to go home, tell his annoying wife (Rebecca Pidgeon) that he is leaving her, and head for a bar. At this point, I was riveted and anxious to see what happens next. Unfortunately, most of the rest of the film fails to hold my attention as easily.
At the bar, he chats with another businessman (Joe Mantegna), who suggests to Edmond that he go and get laid; that'll make him feel better. Edmond initiates contact, but never has sex with a stripper (Denise Richards), a booth girl (Bai Ling), and a call girl (Mena Suvari), because he feels that their asking price is too high. Desperate, aggravated, & wandering ... Edmond comes across a pimp, who, en route to showing him his lady, decides to try to mug him. Edmond goes crazy and practically kills him. Now, feeling oddly liberated about life, he prances into a bar, picks up a waitress, Glenna (Julia Stiles) and they retreat back to her apartment. Things get out of hand & Edmond finds himself naked in a jail cell. And when sodomized by an accompanying prisoner (Bokeem Woodbine), all Edmond can reply is, 'every fear hides a wish'. The tone of the entire film changes in a flash, some bizarre scenes ensue, & before you know it, the movie is over.
This film suffers for several reasons. Number one, it is only 76 minutes long. Why not elongate it for 20-30 more minutes so that we can relax into the film and try to discover why Edmond's evening starts quite normally & ends in insanity! Because it is so short, we miss out on some much needed exposition/back story and subtext to make this movie a bit fleshier. There are some shocking moments of terror & disbelief. But the story is so simple & doesn't conclude correctly, so it is hard to appreciate what was good here. The stylized acting did not do much to help in this movie, either. The acting (including short scenes from Dylan Walsh of Nip/Tick & Debi Mazar) is solid, but I was often annoyed by the way in which things were being said.
I was completely engaged in the first half of this interesting story. But lengthy, philosophical dialogue creeps in to the film & I was uncomfortable watching some portions; I was not being entertained. William H. Macy continues to surprise me with his range as an actor. Edmond Burke has some diabolical tendencies which we have never seen before from William H. Macy in any other role; he made me squirm in my seat. But why is Edmond so tormented? What happened to make something 'click' in his brain to leave his wife and be the kind of person he was for the remainder of this film? We are never given an explanation. And with that, the film fails to make any real point. I consider this the ultimate unfinished project.
At the bar, he chats with another businessman (Joe Mantegna), who suggests to Edmond that he go and get laid; that'll make him feel better. Edmond initiates contact, but never has sex with a stripper (Denise Richards), a booth girl (Bai Ling), and a call girl (Mena Suvari), because he feels that their asking price is too high. Desperate, aggravated, & wandering ... Edmond comes across a pimp, who, en route to showing him his lady, decides to try to mug him. Edmond goes crazy and practically kills him. Now, feeling oddly liberated about life, he prances into a bar, picks up a waitress, Glenna (Julia Stiles) and they retreat back to her apartment. Things get out of hand & Edmond finds himself naked in a jail cell. And when sodomized by an accompanying prisoner (Bokeem Woodbine), all Edmond can reply is, 'every fear hides a wish'. The tone of the entire film changes in a flash, some bizarre scenes ensue, & before you know it, the movie is over.
This film suffers for several reasons. Number one, it is only 76 minutes long. Why not elongate it for 20-30 more minutes so that we can relax into the film and try to discover why Edmond's evening starts quite normally & ends in insanity! Because it is so short, we miss out on some much needed exposition/back story and subtext to make this movie a bit fleshier. There are some shocking moments of terror & disbelief. But the story is so simple & doesn't conclude correctly, so it is hard to appreciate what was good here. The stylized acting did not do much to help in this movie, either. The acting (including short scenes from Dylan Walsh of Nip/Tick & Debi Mazar) is solid, but I was often annoyed by the way in which things were being said.
I was completely engaged in the first half of this interesting story. But lengthy, philosophical dialogue creeps in to the film & I was uncomfortable watching some portions; I was not being entertained. William H. Macy continues to surprise me with his range as an actor. Edmond Burke has some diabolical tendencies which we have never seen before from William H. Macy in any other role; he made me squirm in my seat. But why is Edmond so tormented? What happened to make something 'click' in his brain to leave his wife and be the kind of person he was for the remainder of this film? We are never given an explanation. And with that, the film fails to make any real point. I consider this the ultimate unfinished project.